Countless women have had their dreams realised or dashed by finding out that they are pregnant. Now research published in the journal Sleep earlier this month has shown that pregnancy can affect women's dreams in a literal sense as well.

For years, doctors have emphasized that pregnant women should attempt to minimize their stress during their pregnancies. Now, thanks to a research group from Temple University, doctors can prove that increased stress can potentially induce hypertension (more commonly referred to pre-eclampsia) that could be life-threatening.

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new energy storage device that is easily mistaken for a black piece of paper. The nanoengineered battery is lightweight, thin as a sheet of paper, extremely durable, and geared toward meeting any design and energy requirements of electronic devices, medical equipment, and transportation vehicles.

Scientists at the University of Washington are working with Harborview Medical Center to study a novel approach for treating lung injuries,ultrasound. Resembling very much the "sci-fi" technology seen on popular TV series, this technique includes using ultrasound rays to seal punctured lungs.

Schizophrenia is commonly known as one of the most horrific mental illnesses, however, new research has suggested that it is also the inevitable outcome of human creativity. According to data published in Proceedings of the Royal Society earlier this month, genes which predispose to schizophrenia may have been favoured by natural selection. Lead author Bernard Crespi, professor of evolutionary biology at Simon Fraser University in Canada, and his colleagues concluded that "schizophrenia represents, in part, a maladaptive by-product of adaptive changes during human evolution".

A yearlong review by the United States Geological Survey concluded that the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere may lead to the disappearance of about two-thirds of the world's polar bear population by the year 2050. The report, released earlier this month details the startling fate of the polar bears as a result of the shrinking sea ice coverage due to increasing summer temperatures. This summer alone has seen the greatest retreat of sea ice since satellite tracking began in 1979.

Last month, scientists at the University of Arkansas and University of New Mexico announced the finding of a new, economical method to generate nanowire scaffolding on titanium metal. The research, published in the August issue of Chemistry of Materials, gives scientists and doctors the opportunity to make more durable, longer-lasting, and multi-functional bone implants and stents. The find comes at a time when the number of people needing bone replacements is increasing, and cardiovascular disease continues to be the number one killer in the United States.

In a study published online by Cell, a publication of Cell Press, scientists have found that a gene known to have a significant part in the neurological disorder known as schizophrenia also has a greater role in the brain than previously thought. The newly discovered aspects of the gene, known as Disrupted-In-Schizophrenia 1 (DISC1), could lead to better explanations of the development and observed prognosis of schizophrenia.

NASA, in collaboration with the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency, took the next step in the Cassini-Huygens mission by commencing a flyby of Saturn's icy moon, Iapetus,100 times closer than its previous flyby three years ago. Radar images gathered from this flyby, the first by Cassini of an icy moon other than Titan, will help scientists learn to interpret surface features of an icy body with the aid of supplemental ultraviolet or visual light images.

In Malawi, a small country in Southeast Africa, thousands of children fight a daily battle against hunger. Now, researchers from Washington University in St. Louis have formulated a new high-calorie, high nutrient content food that is more effective against malnutrition,an enriched peanut butter mixture called Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food' (RUTF).

In an article published this past Thursday in BMC Nursing, researchers report that female teens are less likely to be victims of abuse during dating if they have strong support from friends. Dating violence is a serious issue, as it contributes greatly to teen morbidity and mortality, in forms such as substance abuse, eating disorders, depression, early sexual behavior, pregnancy, STDs, and suicide. The findings from the study will help identify female adolescents at risk for dating violence and prevent such violence.

On September 16th, 1987 several nations met in Montreal to discuss the causes and solutions of the growing ozone hole over the Antarctic. Many of these nations signed the Montreal Protocol, a treaty designed to limit the production of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Since then, a total of 191 countries have signed the protocol, amendments have strengthened the limitations to CFC productions, and monitoring technologies have improved.

Once and still almost heralded at a panacea, advances in stem cell research have come reasonably far in the past few decades, illuminating our understanding of how our bodies can continually renew and heal itself. With each step further in understanding ourselves, however, we have yet to begin to understand where to draw the line between bioethics and science.

The discipline of economics can be highly mathematical, and when added to that, the need for a strong understanding of economic theory, it seems that basic economics research may be beyond undergraduate students. However, the recent article by Leong and Chiba, undergraduate students at Boston University, demonstrates that sound mathematical techniques applied to a specific theory of economics is not only possible, but can yield interesting results.

It's a place that you've been probably more than a few times. The visit could be for yourself, or a loved one, but it always seems to bring out the same twinge of anxiousness at the pit of your stomach each time you enter, sometimes more strongly than others. You know how important it is for you to make it out, but you can't help but think about where else you could be and wish that you could be there instead.

The term protein originates from πρώτα, a Greek word meaning "prota" or "of primary importance." This word, although simple, illustrates an important fact - proteins are the workhorses of all living organisms. Although they seem at first glance to be simple bio-macromolecules composed of a combination of only 20 different amino acids, proteins exhibit an astonishing array of complexity and diversity. As catalysts, scaffolds, transporters, and regulators, these molecules are the building blocks of the organic robots we know as organisms.

A spectacular, story-and-a-half sculpture by Dale Chihuly greets visitors entering the new Seay Biomedical Building on the campus of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. Rising from a pool of water like a mass of shining octopus tentacles, its 1,100 pieces of bright orange, blown glass are not only excellent art forms, but they may seem to represent the vicious nature of cancer that scientists in the building are trying to cure.

The new IS/LM establishes that monetary policies should not influence real economies in the long run since they cannot engineer a permanent departure of outout from its capacity level (King 2000). The purpose of this paper is to empirically evaluate limitations of monetary policies emphasized by the new IS/LM model. A long-run relationship between real interest rates and the real economy implies a possibility that monetary policies have permanent effects on the economy. Therefore, we tested four hypotheses in which interest rates and real economic variables might be related.

The functional properties of proteins depend on their three-dimensional shapes. Protein structures can be determined by X-ray crystallography as a tool. The three-dimensional structure of the apo form of the Escherichia coli L-arabinose isomerase (ECAI) has recently been determined. ECAI is responsible for the initial stage of L-arabinose catabolism, converting arabinose into ribulose in vivo. This enzyme also plays a crucial role in catalyzing the conversion of galactose into tagatose (low calorie natural sugar) in vitro.